Deploy and Host RSSHub

Deploy a fully self-hosted, open-source RSS feed generator on Railway in one click. This template provisions RSSHub (diygod/rsshub:chromium-bundled) backed by Redis for caching — everything pre-wired, no manual config required.

About Hosting RSSHub

RSSHub is an open-source RSS feed aggregator and generator with 41,000+ GitHub stars. Its core job: turn anything on the internet into an RSS feed — YouTube channels, Reddit threads, Telegram groups, Twitter/X accounts, GitHub releases, and thousands more sources that dropped native RSS support years ago.

This Railway template runs two services:

• RSSHub (diygod/rsshub:chromium-bundled) — includes a bundled Chromium for scraping JavaScript-rendered pages
• Redis — caches feed responses so repeated requests don't hammer source sites

Self-hosting gives you full control: no rate limits from public instances, no third-party logging your reading habits, and configurable cache TTLs.

Why Deploy RSSHub

• Private networking — RSSHub talks to Redis over Railway's internal network; Redis is never exposed publicly
• Zero config wiring — environment variables like REDIS_URL are pre-connected between services
• One-click deploy — no Nginx, no Docker Compose, no VPS SSH session required
• Automatic scaling — vertical and horizontal scaling via Railway's dashboard
• Cheaper than SaaS — open-source software means you only pay for the infrastructure you actually use

Common Use Cases

• Content aggregation — pull YouTube channels, newsletters, and blogs into a single RSS reader (Feedly, NetNewsWire, Miniflux)
• Developer monitoring — track GitHub releases, PyPI package updates, or Hacker News mentions of your project
• Media monitoring — follow brand mentions and competitor activity across Reddit, Twitter/X, and forums without platform accounts
• Privacy-first social following — subscribe to public social feeds without handing engagement data to the platform

Dependencies for RSSHub

• Redis — required for caching; included in this template
• Chromium — bundled in the chromium-bundled Docker image for JS-heavy sources
• Node.js — runtime, handled inside the Docker image

Environment Variables Reference

Deployment Dependencies

• Docker image: diygod/rsshub:chromium-bundled
• GitHub repo: DIYgod/RSSHub
• Official docs: docs.rsshub.app

Minimum Server Requirements for RSSHub

The chromium-bundled image is larger (~1 GB) than the base image. If you only need static RSS sources, swap to diygod/rsshub to reduce memory usage.

Getting Started with RSSHub After Deploying

Once Railway finishes the deployment and gives you your public URL, here's what to do:

1. Verify it's running — open your Railway URL; you'll see the RSSHub homepage with a search bar and route list
2. Find a route — browse docs.rsshub.app and search for the platform you want (e.g. YouTube, GitHub, Reddit)
3. Build your feed URL — routes follow the pattern https://your-app.railway.app/. For example, a YouTube channel feed:

https://your-app.railway.app/youtube/channel/UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

4. Paste into your RSS reader — drop that URL into Feedly, NetNewsWire, Miniflux, or any RSS client
5. Install RSSHub Radar — the browser extension auto-detects available RSSHub routes on any page you visit, making discovery instant

Self-Hosting RSSHub Outside Railway

For a local or VPS deployment using Docker:

docker run -d \
  --name rsshub \
  -p 1200:1200 \
  -e NODE_ENV=production \
  -e CACHE_TYPE=memory \
  diygod/rsshub:chromium-bundled

With Redis caching (recommended for production):

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  rsshub:
    image: diygod/rsshub:chromium-bundled
    ports:
      - "1200:1200"
    environment:
      NODE_ENV: production
      REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
      CACHE_TYPE: redis
  redis:
    image: redis:alpine
    volumes:
      - redis-data:/data
volumes:
  redis-data:

RSSHub vs Alternatives

FreshRSS and Miniflux are RSS readers — they consume feeds. RSSHub creates feeds. They complement each other perfectly: point your FreshRSS or Miniflux instance at your self-hosted RSSHub to get the best of both.

Is RSSHub Free?

RSSHub is MIT-licensed open-source software — free to use, modify, and self-host. There's no paid tier, no SaaS subscription. Your only cost is infrastructure: a Railway deployment typically runs under $5/month for a low-traffic personal instance. Public community instances exist at rsshub.app but come with rate limits — self-hosting removes those entirely.

FAQ

Here are some FAQ pairs focused on "what is RSSHub" and related discovery questions:

What is RSSHub?

RSSHub is an open-source RSS feed generator that creates RSS feeds for websites, apps, and platforms that don't natively support RSS. Instead of visiting dozens of sites manually, you point an RSS reader at RSSHub routes and get a unified content stream.

What does RSSHub actually do?

It acts as a bridge between modern web content and the RSS standard. Give it a YouTube channel URL, a Reddit user profile, a GitHub repo, or a Telegram channel — RSSHub outputs a clean, subscribable RSS feed for each one.

Is RSSHub free to use?

Yes. RSSHub is MIT-licensed open-source software with no paid tiers. You can use public community instances for free, or self-host it on your own infrastructure (like Railway) and only pay for compute.

What is the difference between RSSHub and an RSS reader?

An RSS reader (like Feedly or Miniflux) consumes feeds — it's where you read content. RSSHub generates feeds for sources that don't have them. They work together: RSSHub creates the feed, your reader subscribes to it.

What platforms does RSSHub support?

RSSHub has over 1,000 routes covering YouTube, Twitter/X, Reddit, Telegram, GitHub, Bilibili, WeChat public accounts, Hacker News, and hundreds more. The full list is in the official documentation.

Why would I self-host RSSHub instead of using a public instance?

Public instances have rate limits and may log your requests. Self-hosting gives you unlimited requests, full privacy, faster cache responses tuned to your usage, and no dependency on a community-run server staying online.

Does RSSHub require an account or login?

No. RSSHub is a feed generation service — you deploy it, hit the route URLs, and get RSS feeds back. There's no user account system by default.

Is RSSHub an open-source RSS feed aggregator that generates feeds from various online sources?

Yes. RSSHub is open-source (MIT license) and its sole purpose is generating RSS/Atom feeds for sources that don't provide them natively — social platforms, video sites, forums, APIs, and more.

How do I self-host RSSHub with Docker?

Use the official image diygod/rsshub:chromium-bundled from Docker Hub. The Railway template handles all configuration automatically; for manual Docker deployments, see the self-hosting section above.

What is RSSHub Radar?

RSSHub Radar is a browser extension (Chrome, Firefox) that detects supported RSSHub routes for whatever website you're currently visiting, so you can subscribe in one click without digging through documentation.

Does RSSHub work with YouTube and Telegram?

Yes to both. RSSHub has dedicated routes for YouTube channels, playlists, and search results, as well as Telegram channels and groups. Check docs.rsshub.app for the exact route paths.

Why use the chromium-bundled image?

Many modern sites render content with JavaScript — standard HTTP requests return empty shells. The bundled Chromium lets RSSHub execute JS and scrape the rendered output, enabling routes for sites like Twitter/X, Instagram, and others.

Can I use my RSSHub instance with any RSS reader?

Yes — any reader that accepts a URL works: Miniflux, NetNewsWire, Reeder, Feedly, Inoreader, FreshRSS, and others. Just paste your Railway domain + route path as the feed URL.